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November 8, 2006
All star teacher uses real world encounters to reach students
BoardBuzz always loves a warm-fuzzy, and this one out of Connecticut is just that. Each year USA Today recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers. One such teacher is Kimberly Waltmire, a second-grade teacher who has won numerous grants and awards during her 17-year teaching career.
"We often give children a blank piece of paper, but we don't give them the tools to write," Waltmire says. "Time and time again, their writing is dull and unimaginative and the kids are so stressed they can't write. So I allow kids to experience things first, and the writing comes last." One "experience" she shared with her students was when her class took up the cause of freeing a 6-pound lobster that one student spotted in a supermarket. Waltmire used "math, science and lessons on persuasive letter-writing into a plan that led to the 20-year-old lobster's release into Long Island Sound."
She also pioneered an intergenerational education program, The Gift Goes On, which pairs students with a senior citizen to work on a year-long class project. One satisfied former student, Priya Swyden, said of Waltmire, "Mrs. Waltmire made learning fun with all the activities our class did. Now all I want to do is read and write." Sounds like a rousing endorsement to us!
Posted November 8, 2006 3:46 PM |
Teachers
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